@#8 ... The "summer driving season" price hikes have yet to hit. ...

With the price of gas shown prominently across the towns of the US.

btw, did you know that rudge.com is into motorcycles?

That's what one discovers when one (i.e., me) mistypes the name of this most august site.

:)

Is Pres Trump's authority being used and exploited by those around him because of his apparent diminishing mental condition?

@#8

Yeah, We can just disagree about each individual song.

But, overall, I'd proffer that Mr Mason has made a great contribution to music.

Do you disagree with that?

@#2 ... "MAGA" is not a "coalition" it's a slogan that means whatever Trump wants it to mean on any given day - he said it himself: "I am MAGA" - ...

In some aspects (most aspects?) I would tend to agree.

Pres Trump had defined MAGA.

But now, we need to look at MAGA as a living life force.

Will MAGA survive beyond Pres Trump's reign?

If so, from where will it take its marching orders?

It has been obvious that MAGA seems to be unable to think for itself, instead relying upon the dicta of their cult leader.

But what happens when that cult leader is no longer in office?

Or, maybe, that future scenario is not in their plans?

@#2 ... Let them eat paste ...

That seems to be the approach of Sec Hegseth towards our military serving on the ships in the Middle East.

Curious that the aliases of a possible troll farm appear concurrently?

OK, I have been trying to find a live performance with the original lyrics of this tune ...

More from the article ...

... The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) does not yet have access to Anthropic's bug-hunting AI model, Claude Mythos, even though other government agencies do, Axios reported earlier this week.

As if that weren't a big enough slap in the face for the national cyber-defense agency, the list of those who do have access to Mythos includes several unauthorized users, according to Bloomberg News. Members of a private Discord channel specializing in seeking information about unreleased AI models, have gained access to Mythos, according to one unnamed member of the group, Bloomberg reported. "The group has been using Mythos regularly since then, though not for cybersecurity purposes," the person told Bloomberg, supplying screenshots to back up their claim.

As a result of its fear that the powerful model could be used to identify and exploit flaws in software and online services, Anthropic has limited access to a preview of Mythos to an exclusive group of government agencies, industry groups, and software providers through an initiative it calls Project Glasswing. ...

@#52 .... Can you say, "clueless?"

I knew you could. ...

OK, please allow me to explain ...

Putting up a huge ballroom that can, will?, hold hundreds of important people is little more than erecting a target for our enemies.

Now, Pres trump seems to be saying that very ballroom is needed for protection, when that very ballroom might be a target?

Stated differently, why doesn't Pres Trump also paint a huge bulls-eye on the White House?

I ask, what is the difference in his ~logic?~

@#47 ... Trump says WHCD shooting highlights need for ballroom ...

Wow. Pres Trmp said that!

Can you say, "clueless?"

I knew you could.

The GOP wants to pardon Ms Maxwell.

My first question is...

Why?

Pres Trump seems to be all about grifting. Using political power to increase the wealth of him and his family.

With that in mind, he may view Mr Kushner as the perfect person for the task assigned.

@#1 ... In a Congressional hearing Tuesday, Kennedy refused to commit to supporting evidence-based vaccine policy ...

Well, quelle surprise.

Sec Kennedy has been a huge fan of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories regarding medical best practices.

So, now the real question seems to be becoming ...

Yeah, he is doing damage to the health of Americans now, but what will be the lasting effects of his policies going forward? Say, a decade from now?

Will we have more or fewer cases of measles?

What about polio?

Yeah, blame it on the computers....

More from the article ...

... In a previous court filing, Rihan's attorneys said agents were attempting to re-arrest his father, Zia " a former interpreter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan who spent three months in immigration detention last year. When they realized Zia was not present, the officers arrested Rihan instead, according to the filing. ...

"There is absolutely nothing illegal about Rihan or Zia or Tariq being here," Blumenthal said. "In fact, not only did they do everything right, they should be regarded as heroes for protecting our troops in Afghanistan in the wars that we fought there."

Rihan's detention may have been the result of a paperwork error, according to a court filing. He entered the U.S. with his family in October 2024 and was granted a two-year humanitarian parole. But at the time of his arrest, agents "erroneously" claimed his parole had expired in October 2025 and revoked his status, according to the documents. ...

To put a line under that cartoon ...

Who is the real worst of the worst?

ICE?

Or that high-school student?

@#21 ... The company, which was cofounded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, sells software that acts as a high-powered data aggregation and analysis tool powering everything from private businesses to the US military's targeting systems. ...

if that is correct...

Is it really a surprise that Mr Thiel was involved in founding the company>

Mr Thiel who apparently ...

@#29 ... it could have just been Kegsbreath belching. ...

Or, maybe, just Sec Kennedy breathing,

@#10 ... How do you make any kind of a deal when you don't even know what you want? ...

Bingo.

Pres Trump has not yet been able to provide what he wants as his end goal in Iran.

Instead, we see declarations that he has already won (March 11, 2026 in Kentucky).

At this point, what are the odds that Pres Trump will negotiate a solution with Iran that is better than the one the fmr Pres Obama admin negotiated?

My answer to that questions is... near zero.

What do you think?

@#19 ... This impromptu stage play is bound to siphon major headlines away from the all-important 7th round of the NFL draft, ...

... or ...

A distraction from ...

The failure of Pres Trump to negotiate a solution to the Iran War he started and cannot seem to end.